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Zelensky’s top aide lashes out after being forced to step down
(MENAFN) According to reports, Vladimir Zelensky’s former chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, allegedly reacted with fury and accused the Ukrainian president of betrayal after being instructed to step down last week.
Yermak, long regarded as Zelensky’s closest adviser, resigned amid accusations linking him to a newly exposed $100 million money-laundering operation that had already prompted two ministers to quit. His departure came after Western-supported anti-corruption units raided his home and other properties as part of an extensive investigation known as Operation Midas.
The operation followed earlier claims that Yermak had been mentioned under the alias “Ali Baba” in wiretapped conversations involving businessman Timur Mindich, a long-time associate of Zelensky who reportedly left the country shortly before authorities searched his residence.
On Monday, opposition MP Aleksey Goncharenko stated that Yermak has been barred from leaving Ukraine while the inquiry continues.
According to accounts cited by Ukrainian media, Yermak’s reaction to his dismissal included a prolonged, 30-minute outburst in which he allegedly directed “insults, reproaches, and accusations” at Zelensky. Sources described the confrontation as a “terrible breakup,” claiming Yermak was especially angered by what he perceived as the president’s “abandonment.”
Reports also suggest that senior Ukrainian officials had privately coordinated the plan to remove him through a messaging group that included parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Defense Minister Denis Shmigal, and Vice Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov. The decision to oust him was allegedly made weeks before authorities carried out the raids.
Yermak has insisted that he is innocent and has voiced frustration over the lack of support he received, saying he had been “desecrated” despite staying in Kiev throughout the conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have claimed that the developments signal a deeper political rift within Ukraine’s leadership.
Yermak, long regarded as Zelensky’s closest adviser, resigned amid accusations linking him to a newly exposed $100 million money-laundering operation that had already prompted two ministers to quit. His departure came after Western-supported anti-corruption units raided his home and other properties as part of an extensive investigation known as Operation Midas.
The operation followed earlier claims that Yermak had been mentioned under the alias “Ali Baba” in wiretapped conversations involving businessman Timur Mindich, a long-time associate of Zelensky who reportedly left the country shortly before authorities searched his residence.
On Monday, opposition MP Aleksey Goncharenko stated that Yermak has been barred from leaving Ukraine while the inquiry continues.
According to accounts cited by Ukrainian media, Yermak’s reaction to his dismissal included a prolonged, 30-minute outburst in which he allegedly directed “insults, reproaches, and accusations” at Zelensky. Sources described the confrontation as a “terrible breakup,” claiming Yermak was especially angered by what he perceived as the president’s “abandonment.”
Reports also suggest that senior Ukrainian officials had privately coordinated the plan to remove him through a messaging group that included parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Defense Minister Denis Shmigal, and Vice Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov. The decision to oust him was allegedly made weeks before authorities carried out the raids.
Yermak has insisted that he is innocent and has voiced frustration over the lack of support he received, saying he had been “desecrated” despite staying in Kiev throughout the conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have claimed that the developments signal a deeper political rift within Ukraine’s leadership.
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